Barrier pads for evaporative coolers

ABSTRACT

Barrier pads for use in an evaporative cooler unit consisting of a barrier pad mounted on the blower housing and spaced from its intake openings to prevent droplets of moisture and particles of dust which collect on the cooling pads of the unit from being drawn into a room or the like by the cooling unit&#39;&#39;s fan. The pad may be a ring covered with an absorbent material. The ring is mounted in front of the blower housing openings by wire supports fixed on the stud bolts which secure the fan shaft mounts.

United States Patent Gray Feb. 29, 1972 [54] BARRIER PADS FOR EVAPORATIVE 585,188 6/1897 Davis ..415/l21 COOLERS 750,658 1/1904 King ..55/DIG. 20 352,485 11/1886 Owin .,...55 DIG. 20 [72] Inventor: Billy C. Gray, 765 De Baca Road, Las 3,203,158 8/1965 Zadrf i -"/"55/505 8800 3,479,799 11/1969 A011 ..s5/2s7 [22] Fil d; Apr, 29, 1970 3,278,114 10/1966 Gibbs ..4l5/12l Appl' 32380 Primary Examiner-Tim R. Miles Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz, Edward J. Kelly and Herbert [52] 11.8. C1. ..55/259, 261/106, 55/505, Bed

415/121 51 1111. c1. ..B01f3/04 BSTRACT [58] held of Search 106; 55/259 2 7 Barrier pads for use in an evaporative cooler unit consisting of a barrier pad mounted on the blower housing and spaced from its intake openings to prevent droplets of moisture and parti- [56] References C'ted cles of dust which collect on the cooling pads of the unit from UNITED STATES PATENTS being drawn into a room or the like by the cooling unit's fen. The pad may be a ring covered with an absorbent material. 1,729,593 9/1929 Peterson ..55/259 The i is mounted in from f the blower housing openings 3,126,428 3/1964 Ash by wire supports fixed on the stud bolts which secure the fan 2,631,830 3/1953 Carraway.... ....55/259 h ft mounts 3,427,005 2/1969 Kuykendall. :...261/29 1,640,564 8/1927 Burdick (055/257 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures awmw P aitented Feb. 29, W2

ATTORNEYS.

BARRIER PADS FOR EVAPORATIVE COOLERS The invention described herein may be manufactured, used, and licensed by or for the Government for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

Cooling units wherein a blower fan is used are apt to draw droplets of moisture and dust particles which have collected on their cooling pads in the air ducts. The droplets of moisture may be blown into a room, etc., causing warping of furniture and floor deterioration, as well as causing rust in the cooling units air circulation ducts. Cooling units of the blower type have the usual cooler pads placed at the air inlet openings of the cooler housing. The barrier pads of this invention further, prevent particles of dust collecting on the cooler pads from being drawn into a.room during the initial blast of the fan which can produce respiratory troubles in occupants of the rooms.

The present invention is designed to correct the aforesaid disadvantages by providing a set of barrier pads which are mounted, one each, in front of the blower housing air intake openings, of which there are usually two. Moisture collecting on the barrier pads acts to increase the cooling power. of the system. The barrier pads are spaced from the blower housing intake openings at a sufficient distance to permit efficient air flow at normal capacity.

It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a means to prevent entry of moisture and dust in a blower-type cooling unit from entering into a room, etc.

- Another object is to provide a set of secondary moisture and dust collecting pads mounted, one each, over the air inlet openings of a fan blower housing and between the housing and the cooling pads of the cooling unit.

A further object is to provide a means to increase the cooling capacity of a blower-type cooling unit. 7

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, drawings and appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cabinet-type cooler in which the present invention may be used;

FIG. 2 is a section view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a section view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective detail view of one of the wire supports for mounting one of the barrier pads to the blower housing of a cooler unit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of one of the wire supports, and,

FIG. 6 is a perspective detail view of a modified form of barrier pad construction.

Referring to the drawing in detail, reference character 1 indicates a cabinet-type cooling system in which the barrier pads may be used. This type cooler is commonly called a window box which is placed in a window or on the roof of a building. Generally the cooler consists of a cabinet 2. Cabinet 2 is provided with louvered air inlet openings 3 and an air duct 4 which leads into a room or like area. Duct 4 may connect to a series of ducts for cooling several rooms, not shown. Duct 4 connects with a blower housing 5 inside cabinet 2. The blower housing 5 houses a squirrel cage-type fan 6 mounted on a shaft 6a, which is usually rotated by an electric motor 7 which is mounted directly on shaft 6a. In larger cooling systems, the motor may be drivably connected to the fan shaft by a belt, not shown. Shaft 6a and motor 7 are mounted by a spider 8, the legs 9 of which are attached to the sidewalls of blower housing 5 by studbolts 10 and secured thereon by nuts 11, see

FIG. 4.

Air inlet openings 3 of cabinet 2 have the usual moisture holding cooler pads 12 which are merely placed in channels 13 formed in the cabinet walls for ready replacement. These pads 12 are the usual type that are employed in most cooler units of the dry air evaporative type.

The barrier pads of this invention are indicated by I4 and are seen in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 and are placed in spaced relation in front of the air intake openings 15 of the blower housing 5. The spacing is a predetermined distance from the openings 15 in order to control the amount of air moved by fan 6 for the fullest capacity thereof. The spacing IS made possible by wire supports 16, see FIG. 5. Each wire support 16 is provided with a ring base 17 at its inner end for replaceable securement on studbolts 10 and its outer end is provided with a cradle ring 18 in which the barrier pad 14 may be suspended as shown. Three supports are shown. The length of the wire support 16 will determine the amount of spacing of pads 14 from openings 15.

Barrier pads 14 are shown to be disc shaped but may be square or other shape determining upon the shape of the blower housing air intake openings. Each pad 14 is of an ab; sorbent material such as canvas. It may be a solid piece or a ring supported member such as shown in FIG. 6 wherein the cloth 14a is held in shape by a wire ring 19.

It is apparent from the foregoing that an arrangement of secondary barrier pads have been devised to prevent moisture from being drawn into an area by the air movement, and also to entrap particles of dust which collect on the usual cooler pads and are blown therefrom upon initial blast from the fan. The barrier pads further will aid in greater efficiency in the overall cooling capacity of the cooling unit by increasing the evaporative area of moisture collecting surfaces.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with an evaporative-type cooling unit including a cabinet having air inlet openings therein and moisture laden cooling pads disposed adjacent said inlet openings, a blower housing in said cabinet having air inlet openings therein, a driven fan joumaled in said blower housing and an air duct leading from said blower housing; air pervious barrier pads of absorbent material for preventing dust particles and droplets of moisture collecting on said cooler pads from entering said blower housing and air duct, and supporting means for mounting one of said barrier pads over each air inlet in said blower housing, the barrier pads being spaced from said air inlets of the blower housing and from the walls of the cabinet a distance sufficient to permit the passage of a substantial quantity of air to the blower housing air inlets around the barrier pads without passing through said barrier pads.

2. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said barrier pad comprises a ring having an absorbent material stretched thereon.

3. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim I wherein the supporting means for mounting said pads include a series of wire members, each member comprising a length of wire bent to form a base ring at one end and a cradle ring at its other end, said base ring being adapted for securement to said blower housing and said cradle ring being adapted for suspension of said barrier pad.

4. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said barrier pads are of a diameter equal to at least the diameter of said air inlet openings in said blower housing.

5. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pads are replaceably suspended by said supporting means.

* t i i 

1. In combination with an evaporative-type cooling unit including a cabinet having air inlet openings therein and moisture laden cooling pads disposed adjacent said inlet openings, a blower housing in said cabinet having air inlet openings therein, a driven fan journaled in said blower housing and an air duct leading from said blower housing; air pervious barrier pads of absorbent material for preventing dust particles and droplets of moisture collecting on said cooler pads from entering said blower housing and air duct, and supporting means for mounting one of said barrier pads over each air inlet in said blower housing, the barrier pads being spaced from said air inlets of the blower housing and from the walls of the cabinet a distance sufficient to permit the passage of a substantial quantity of air to the blower housing air inlets around the barrier pads without passing through said barrier pads.
 2. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein each said barrier pad comprises a ring having an absorbent material stretched thereon.
 3. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein the supporting means for mounting said pads include a series of wire members, each member comprising a length of wire bent to form a base ring at one end and a cradle ring at its other end, said base ring being adapted for securement to said blower housing and said cradle ring being adapted for suspension of said barrier pad.
 4. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said barrier pads are of a diameter equal to at least the diameter of said air inlet openings in said blower housing.
 5. In a cooling unit as set forth in claim 1 wherein said pads are replaceably suspended by said supporting means. 